Removable device for attaching two mechanical parts

ABSTRACT

A removable device for attaching two mechanical parts includes a pin removably locking a first part with respect to a second part, a retainer member on the pin and a resiliently loaded tension member which collaborate to prevent the pin from coming out of its locked position; the removable device further includes at least two inclined surfaces, the general shape of which is that of a projection oriented in the axial direction of the pin, such that when the pin rotates, the retainer member runs along the inclined surfaces and the pin moves between the locked position and unlocked position against a force exerted on the pin along a longitudinal axial direction of the pin exerted by the tension member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 11/547,392, filed on Sep. 29, 2006, which is a national stage entryunder 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/ES2004/000144,filed on Mar. 30, 2004. These applications are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to a removable device for attaching twomechanical parts, comprising a pin removably locking a first part withrespect to a second part, a retainer member associated to the pin and aresiliently loaded tension member, which collaborate to prevent the pinfrom coming out of its lock position.

2. Description of Related Art

Excavating machines and the like, such as those used in public works andmining, are used to pull out, move and load earth and stones. Thesemachines are usually provided with a bucket joined to a mechanical arm.The bucket is provided with a beveled lip or blade on a front edgeintended for striking against and penetrating the earth and stone mass.It is usual to mount teeth associated to the blade projecting forwardlytherefrom to prevent excessive wear of the blade and to aid inpenetrating the earth. However, said blades are also subjected to wearand breaks, whereby they must often be replaced and furthermore,depending on the work which the machine is to perform, it may bedesirable to change the type or shape of the teeth. To facilitate saidreplacement, fixed to the blade of the bucket in a more or lesspermanent manner there is a tooth bar and teeth, such that each tooth isremovably mounted on the tooth bar by means of a pin. Said pin usuallytraverses the holes of the tooth and a passage traversing the tooth barin order to fix the tooth to the tooth bar.

A retainer device is used to prevent the pin from coming out of itsassembly position, fixing the pin in its said assembly position. Theretainer device usually includes resilient members which usually apply aforce pushing the pin towards its assembly position. When the usualarrangements operate under difficult conditions, the pin has thetendency to be displaced against the pushing force of the retainerdevice. Then the pin can come out of the tooth bar, the pin and toothpossibly being lost. The loss of a tooth and/or pin may be veryimportant according to the operating site thereof, such as mines orquarries for example, since they may damage other machines, such ascrushers, operating in the same production site as the machine using thetooth.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,843 discloses an arrangement in which the retainerdevice is a spring washer which is placed in a cavity of the tooth bardefining a housing receiving said washer and positions it concentricallywith respect to the corresponding holes of the tooth and the tooth bar,said washer operating and therefore being deformed in the directionperpendicular to the axial axis of the pin. The diameter of the pin isgreater than that of the hole of the washer, such that the pin fits intothe washer by means of a recess existing on the surface of the pin whena mechanical stress is applied, usually consisting of striking the pinwith a hammer or mallet. This requirement of striking the pin in orderto fit it into the washer is evidently uncomfortable and arduous sinceit is usually necessary to strike the pin horizontally, a difficultoperation since the space between tooth bars located on the blade of abucket is limited, requiring the use of auxiliary tools which only makethe assembly and removal of the pin more difficult, increasing the riskof an accident for the operator or operators. This retainer device isaffected by the quality of the material of the spring washer used sincethe pin is retained by the same and the retention of the pin will bemore or less reliable according to the same. The recess existing in thepin for inserting the washer likewise weakens the pin, the latterpossibly breaking due to the work carried out by the tooth-tooth barassembly and the stress concentration in said recess.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,534 discloses a lock system for the pin which isrotary and does not require hammering. In this system, the pinincorporates a resilient member able to exert a force against oneportion of the tooth or tooth bar for the purpose of tightening thecoupling between both, and a resiliently loaded retainer member radiallyprojecting from a cylindrical wall of the pin and susceptible to beingintroduced in a cavity of the tooth or tooth bar when the pin, onceinserted, is rotated a predetermined angle by means of the applicationof a tool on an axial end of the pin. A notch allows the introduction ofthe retainer member when the pin is axially inserted into a passagedefined by both the tooth and tooth bar when they are coupled. Once thepin is inserted, a ramped surface acts as a cam to push the retainermember inwardly of the pin as the latter is rotated until reaching theangular position of said cavity, where the retainer member is shot intothe cavity due to the effect of said resilient loading. The removalthereof is provided for by either breaking of the retainer member due tothe action of striking with a hammer in the axial direction on the pinor the collaboration of inclined surfaces of the housing withcorresponding inclined surfaces of the head of the retainer member topush the latter inwardly, either by an axial force exerted on the pin,or by applying a turning torque thereto.

This arrangement entails great complexity for the pin, since itincorporates two moving parts housed and retained in respective cavitiesof the body of the pin and resiliently loaded by means of coil springs,which negatively affects its production cost. Furthermore, the movingparts and resilient springs housed in the pin are highly susceptible tobeing affected by the accumulation of dust and earth, which combinedwith moisture can form a clay-type paste which may lock the springs andthe movement possibilities of the moving parts when it dries, whichentails the need to destroy them by hammering when it is necessary toremove the teeth.

In this type of systems, the stresses required for removal exceedassembly stresses since in addition to the difficulties of the designand construction, removal is affected because during operation, the pinand retainer member may become deformed and earth can additionally beintroduced in the housing of the pin, making its extraction difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In order to overcome the drawbacks mentioned and to simplify theassembly and removal of a tooth in a tooth bar, and more generally oftwo mechanical parts, one female and the other male, from one another,the attachment device according to the present invention ischaracterized by the fact that it further comprises at least twoinclined planes, the general shape of which is that of a projectionoriented in the axial direction of the pin, such that when the pin isrotated, the retainer member runs along said inclined planes and the pinmoves between two positions, the pin lock position and the unlock orintroduction position, against the force axial to the pin exerted bysaid tension member. Said retainer member has four, two-by-two parallelfaces, the two upper and lower faces being the ones which allow exertingthe pressure on the tension member as well as facilitating the slidingof the retainer member, and therefore the rotation of the pin, in orderto reach the lock position.

The tension member should not be significantly resiliently loaded onceit is located in its assembly position since if it were very loaded, itcould bring about the following results:

-   -   Over time, the possible loss of the resilient properties of the        tension member in systems with little wear, and    -   The tension member being relaxed allows the retainer member to        return to its rest position due to the existence of forces with        random components, however if the tension member were very        resiliently loaded in its working position, it would be        subjected to repetitive forces (of compression and rotation)        which could accumulate over time and move the retainer member        from its lock position to its introduction position.

Thanks to these features, both the assembly of the two parts and theremoval operation are carried out in a simple manner without needing tostrike the pin, but at the same time the attachment during the job issolid and reliable. This is possible because in addition to itsconstructive features, dirt which the device will be subjected to duringthe job does not affect the operation thereof. This is because thetension member occupies a space which is not affected by said dirt andtherefore allows it to perform its compression function regardless ofthe existing dirt, since when the tension member is compressed, apreviously inexistent space is opened, allowing the movement of theaccumulated dirt.

As the attachment device does not require hammering for its assembly orremoval, it also allows assembling a larger number of tooth bars or maleparts on the bucket of a machine.

The two inclined planes, in combination with the resilient loading ofthe tension member and the retainer member, make it very difficult forthe pin, with said retainer member, to come out of its lock position.During working operation thereof, the pin can receive both longitudinaland transverse stresses, but it is very unlikely that it will receivestresses causing a rotation thereof, such that the retainer of the pinwill not be able to be displaced from its lock position to theintroduction position of the pin in the cavity formed by the male partand the female part.

One feature of the retainer device is that it can be adapted to alreadyexisting retainer systems.

In one embodiment, the inclined planes are formed on a face of thetension member.

In an alternative embodiment, the inclined planes are formed on at leastone of the contact surfaces between the male part and female part, i.e.in at least one of the inner surfaces of the female part or in at leastone of the outer surfaces of the male part. In this case, the samesurface of the part containing said inclined planes can be provided witha cavity housing the retainer member of the pin in its lock position.

The inclined planes preferably form two ramps facing each other with aprojection between both, and one of the slopes of which is steeper thanthe other one. Greater ease during assembly in the rotation of the pinfrom the pin introduction position to the lock position is thus assured,and the opposite movement is hindered so as to prevent the pin frombeing released from the housing between the male part and the femalepart, causing one of the parts to be released from the other one whileworking.

In one embodiment, the pin comprises a body, the shape of which is thatof a surface of revolution. Said body can be frustoconical in order tofacilitate the introduction and extraction of the pin, or cylindrical;the cylindrical shape will be more appropriate in the embodiments inwhich the pin is axially displaced during the assembly or removaloperation. Furthermore, the pin is preferably a through pin, i.e. ittraverses the two sides of the female part, facilitating the extractionof the pin by pressing on the side opposite to the introduction sideshould the pin become stuck. The retainer member object of the presentinvention may also be used in fixing systems between a male part and afemale part in which the pin is not a through pin.

The section of the pin may have different geometric shapes, beingpreferable for it to have a circular section due not only to a betterresistance to the stresses to which it is subjected as well as to abetter fit to the retainer device, but also for a simpler manufacture.Another section which the pin have is oval or elliptical, such that whenthe pin rotates after it is introduced, the area of longer length comesinto contact with the wall of the housing of the male part. Othergeometric sections the vertices of which are rounded can also be used inthe present retainer device.

An embodiment variant of the invention with a frustoconical pin providesfor including at least two inclined planes in ramp form, separated fromone another by a flat section with self-tightening effects to offset thewear effects and thus keep the assembly taut. By means of thisembodiment, in addition to rotating, the pin performs an axial movementwhich assures the retention since the locking of the pin is moredifficult as it requires a rotation and simultaneous axial displacement.This variant prolongs the lifetime of the coupling since it allows usinga larger number of female parts with a single male part. This is thecase because upon allowing tightening of the fixing between the malepart and the female part, it allows maintaining the tension betweenboth, offsetting the increased allowance generated by the wear of themale part during its lifetime as different female parts are changed.

In the sense of simplifying the device of the invention as much aspossible, the retainer member constitutes a transverse projection of thepin and is preferably interlocked thereto.

It is provided that one of the ends of the pin presents a coupling for atool, by means of which a rotational movement can be applied to said pinabout its longitudinal axis.

An embodiment variant provides that the tension member is a curvedsegment of a resilient material in combination with a metal segmentwhich is arranged on said resilient material. As it constitutes a washersegment, the tension member is mounted with no difficulty around thebody of the pin and due to its metal portion, allows facilitating therotational movement of the retainer on the tension member.

It is also possible for the tension member to be formed by a washereither of a resilient material combined with a metallic material, or ofonly a metallic material in the form of a spring for hot applications.

Furthermore, the tension member may not have a metal portion, but ratherbe constituted solely of an elastomeric material.

The tension member can have any shape in addition to those mentioned,washer or curved segment, as long as said tension member allows therotation of the retainer member.

In one embodiment, the tension member is mounted or constructed on thepin, specifically on the retainer member interlocked to the pin.

One of the two parts preferably comprises a cavity for housing thetension member.

For constructive purposes, one of said parts may be provided with a holewith a notch for being able to introduce the pin with the projection orretainer member.

In a particularly useful embodiment of the invention, said first part isa tooth and said second part is a tooth bar, particularly of a bucket ofan excavating machine or the like.

Also provided is the construction of a tooth adapted to be used in saidretainer device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to better understand that which has been set forth, severaldrawings are enclosed in which several practical embodiments have beenrepresented schematically and only by way of non-limiting example.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a tooth-tooth bar assembly of abucket of an excavating machine with a device according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the tooth of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows two side views of the tooth of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows two sectional views of the tooth of FIG. 2 according toA-A;

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the tooth of FIG. 3, according to B-B;

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the tooth bar of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of the tooth bar of FIG. 6 according toC-C;

FIG. 8 shows a plan profile and sectional view of a cylindrical pin;

FIG. 9 shows a plan profile and sectional view of a frustoconical pin;

FIG. 10 shows three views of a tension member according to an embodimentof the invention and applicable in the assembly of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 11A-C show three successive views showing the operation of adevice according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of a tooth-tooth bar assembly of abucket of an excavating machine with a device according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 13 shows a side view of the tooth bar of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows a sectional view of the tooth bar of FIG. 13 according toD-D:

FIG. 15 shows a sectional view of the tooth and of the tooth of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 shows a tension member applicable in the assembly of FIG. 12;

FIG. 17 shows a tension member applicable in the assembly of FIG. 12;

FIG. 18 shows a tension member applicable in the assembly of FIG. 12;

FIG. 19 shows a perspective view of a tooth-tooth bar assembly of abucket of an excavating machine with a device according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 20 shows a side view of the tooth of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 shows a sectional view of the tooth of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 shows a side view of the tooth bar of FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 shows a sectional view of the tooth bar of FIG. 22 according toE-E;

FIG. 24 shows three views of a tension member applicable to the assemblyof FIG. 19;

FIGS. 25A-C show three successive views showing the operation of adevice according to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 26 shows a perspective view of a tooth-tooth bar assembly of abucket of an excavating machine with a device according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 27 shows a perspective view of a mounted tooth-tooth bar assemblyof a bucket of an excavating machine with a device according to FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 shows a tension member applicable in the assembly of FIG. 26;

FIGS. 29A-C show three successive views showing the operation of adevice according to the assembly of FIG. 26;

FIG. 30 shows two views of a tension member according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 31 shows a sectional view of a tooth according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 31 a shows a detail of the tooth of FIG. 13;

FIG. 31 b shows an enlarged detail of the tooth of FIG. 13 a;

FIG. 32 shows two views of a tension member according to an alternativeembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 33A-C show three successive views showing the operation of adevice using the tension member of FIG. 32;

FIG. 34 shows a perspective view of a tooth-tooth bar assembly of abucket of an excavating machine with a device according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 35 shows a plan, elevational and sectional view of a pin;

FIG. 36 shows a plan, elevational and sectional view of a pin;

FIGS. 37A-C show three successive views showing the operation of adevice according to an embodiment of the invention with the pin of FIG.35;

FIG. 38 shows a side view of a tooth bar according to an embodiment ofthe invention applicable with the pin of FIG. 35 or FIG. 36;

FIGS. 39A-C show three successive views showing the operation of adevice according to an embodiment of the invention with the pin of FIG.36 and the tooth bar of FIG. 38.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention applied, by way of example, to the assemblyand removal of a tooth in a tooth bar of a bucket of an excavatingmachine are described below, but it is clear that the device can be usedfor the removable attachment of another type of mechanical parts.

In reference to FIGS. 1 to 11, a tooth-tooth bar assembly 1 comprises atooth 10, a tooth bar 20, a pin 30 and a resilient tension member 40,the latter formed by a metal member 43 located on a resilient member 44.

The pin 30 is provided with a body, the shape of which is that of asurface of revolution, and of a transverse projection 31 constituting aretainer member for the pin itself. One of the ends of the pin 30contains a recess 32 with the shape suitable for coupling a tool bymeans of which a rotational movement can be applied to the pin about itslongitudinal axis.

The tooth 10 is provided with a hole 11 with a notch 12 for being ableto introduce the pin 30 with the projection or retainer member 31. Itcan also include a hole 11 a with a notch 12 a on the surface or sidewall opposite to the previous one, such that it allows the introductionof the pin through either of the two sides. The tooth bar 20 includes ahole 21 for the pin 30 and a cavity 22 for housing the tension member40. It is likewise possible to also include a hole 21 a and a cavity 22a on the surface of the tooth bar opposite to the previous one.

With the pin mounted in the assembly, the tension member 40 should notbe loaded or significantly resiliently loaded, said tension member 40remaining between the cavity 22 and the retainer member 31. Said tensionmember 40 is a curved segment and has the function of hindering thebackwards movement, possibly caused due to the vibrations occurring inthe excavation process, of the retainer member 31 from its assemblyposition (position C in FIG. 11) to its introduction or extractionposition (position A in FIG. 11).

The tooth-tooth bar assembly 1 is mounted first by coupling the tooth 10and the tooth bar 20 with the tension member 40 previously housed in thecavity 22 of the tooth bar 20, then by introducing the pin into theholes of the tooth and the housing of the tooth bar and, lastly,rotating the pin by means of a suitable tool until the assembly or lockposition in which the retainer member 31 of the pin 30 remains trappedbetween the tooth and the tooth bar. Due to the shape of the hole 11 ofthe tooth 10, the pin 30 can only be introduced in the precise positionin which the retainer member 31 passes through the notch 12.

In this embodiment, shown in FIG. 11 in three positions A, B and C, thetension member 40 formed by the metal portion 43 and resilient portion44 is planar and an inner surface of the tooth 10 is provided with twoinclined surfaces 13 a and 13 b ending in a projection 14. On the sameinner surface of the tooth, next to inclined surface 13 b, there is acavity 15 for housing the retainer member 31 of the pin 30 in its lockposition (position C in FIG. 11).

Inclined surface 13 a presents a first slight ramp which doesexcessively obstruct the forward movement of the retainer member 31 fromposition A to said lock position C, and a steep second ramp 13 b makingthe backwards movement of the retainer member from position C to saidunlock position A more difficult. The tension member 40 is housed in thecavity 22 and cannot be displaced, but it can be compressed since it isresilient, and this compression allows the forward movement of theretainer member 31 along the inclined surfaces 13 a and 13 b, passingthrough the projection 14 (position B in FIG. 11). Furthermore, aspreviously mentioned, when the pin is in its final lock position, thetension member 40 does not maintain a significant resilient compressionload.

In order to remove the tooth 10, the pin 30 is simply rotated from itslock position to the introduction or unlock position with enough forceso that the retainer member 31 compresses the tension member 40 evenmore and overcomes the steep ramp of surface 13 b, then all that remainsis to easily extract the pin from the tooth bar and from the tooth.

In this embodiment, the movements of the pin 10 are translational androtational and the body of the pin will preferably be cylindrical (seeFIG. 8). The pin has two translational movements until its assemblyposition, therefore conferring greater security to the retainer devicegiven that its extraction requires a translational movement in onedirection and subsequently a translational movement in the directionopposite to the previous one, thus making the accidental removal of thepin, and therefore of the tooth while working, difficult. The pin inthis embodiment is preferably cylindrical given that the spaces for thepossible housing of dirt between the pin and the housing thereof in thetooth bar are limited to the outer surface of the pin. If the pin usedin this embodiment were frustoconical, there could be problems in theextraction thereof since the dirt which is introduced while the deviceis working could prevent the translational movement of the pin as itfills up those spaces existing between the pin and the housing in thetooth bar, creating dirt wedges around the outer surface of the pin.

In another embodiment of the invention as shown in FIGS. 12 to 18,rather than being a curved segment, the tension member can be a circularwasher 70 made up of a resilient portion 74 and a metal portion 73. Whenthe tooth and tooth bar are applied to hot-working operations, saidtension member 70 with a metal portion and another resilient portion maybe replaced by a metal washer, such as a spring 76 or spring 75 forexample.

In this embodiment, the movements of the pin 30 are also axiallyrotational such that the body of the pin will preferably be cylindrical,since if it were frustoconical said translational movement would only bepossible at the expense of a poor fitting of the pin 30 in the tooth 10and the tooth bar 20.

In another embodiment represented in FIGS. 19 to 25, the tension member80 is provided with a planar entry surface 87 and two inclined surfaces85 a and 85 b, which end in a projection 81, said inclined surfacesseparating the initial introduction or unlocking position (correspondingto planar surface 87) of the retainer member 61 together with the pin 60(position A in FIG. 25) from its final assembly or lock position, planarsurface 86 of the tension member 80 (position C in FIG. 25). Theassembly and removal process of this embodiment is similar to that ofthe previously explained embodiment, and in this embodiment, the lockposition of the pin 60 is secure by virtue of the interaction betweenthe resilient tension member 80, retainer member 61, planar surface 86and surface 22. In said FIG. 25, it can be observed how the tensionmember 80 is compressed with respect to reference line R-R when the pinaxially rotates and said tension member is compressed due to the actionof the retainer member 61, without there being axial displacement of thepin 60. In these cases in which there is only a rotational and not axialmovement of the pin, it is preferable for the pin to be frustoconicalsince during the unlocking operation, its being frustoconicalfacilitates its extraction, since the contact between the surface of thepin and of the housing is less and therefore should the gap between thepin and walls of the housing be full of dirt, the effort required toaxially displace the pin will be less. Likewise, should the pin becomedeformed during the working of the retainer device, if said pin werecylindrical, rotation thereof would be more complicated since therewould be greater contact between the pin and the housing in the toothbar due to the constant section of the pin, however since it isfrustoconical, the rotation will not be hindered due to there being lesscontact with the housing in the tooth bar.

In this embodiment, a frustoconical pin 60 has been used (FIG. 9),although as in all the explained embodiments, frustoconical andcylindrical pins may be used indistinctly, although evidently the use ofone rather than the other will be more advantageous according to theembodiment.

In another embodiment of the invention represented in FIGS. 26 to 29,the tension member 100, with a metal portion 103 and a resilient portion104, preferably with a curved segment shape, is provided with twodownwardly inclined surfaces 105 a and 105 b separated from one anotherby a planar section 101 in its metal portion 103. There is also a planararea 106 at the end of said tension member 100. The operation isidentical to that already described for the previous embodiments, but itallows different assembly positions in order to increase the pressure onthe retainer member 61 of the preferably frustoconical pin 60 of thetooth 10. By means of this configuration, it is possible to displace thepin inwardly as the tooth 10 or tooth bar 20 becomes worn due to theeffect of the shocks and vibrations generated between the tooth 10 andtooth bar 20.

Three positions A, B and C are represented in FIG. 29 in which the axialrotation and axial translation displacement of the pin 60 along themetal surface 103 of the tension member 100 is observed.

Another embodiment of the invention, represented in FIGS. 30 and 31,shares the same technical principle as the one described in FIGS. 26 to29, with two downwardly inclined surfaces 53 a and 53 b, separated fromone another by a planar surface 54, and said surfaces located on theinner wall or surface of the tooth 10. In this embodiment, after theinclined surface 53 the inner wall or surface of the tooth 10 hasanother planar surface 55 where the run of the retainer member 61 of thepin 60 ends, said pin 60 preferably being frustoconical. The tensionmember 130 used for this embodiment, formed by a metal portion 133 on aresilient portion 134, preferably with a curved segment shape, has itsupper surface planar, straight and inclined, corresponding to the metalportion, with respect to its lower surface which is planar and straight,corresponding to its resilient portion.

Another embodiment is represented in FIGS. 32 and 33, having the sameoperating principle as all the embodiments and similar in itsconstruction to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 26 to 29. In this variantthe tension member 90 has, as in the others, a metallic member 93 placedon top of a resilient portion 94, the upper surface of the metal portion93 of the tension member having a first planar surface 97 followed by aninclined surface 95 a, after which there is arranged a second inclinedsurface 95 b and ending in a second planar surface 96. The secondinclined surface 95 b is almost perpendicular to planar surfaces 97, 96.The operation of this embodiment is similar to the previous ones,providing the fixing system with a self-tightening system.

This device facilitates the extraction of the pin from its housing giventhat when the disassembly tool is turned, the pin comes out due only tothe effect of the tension member which pushes it outwards. The heightdifference between the first planar surface 97 of the tension member 90and the second planar surface 96 of said tension member 90 is the run ofthe axial displacement of the pin, allowing the arrangement of part ofthe pin outside of its housing prior to the introduction of the pin inthe housing. This device is preferably applicable in dredging systems.

In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 34 to 39, the tension member 113,123 could be mounted or constructed on the pin 110, 120, specifically onthe retainer member 111, 121 and having facing inclined surfacesdefining a rib 14, 125 either on the inner surface of the tooth 10 or onthe outer surface of the tooth bar 20.

Specifically, and in view of FIGS. 34, 35 and 37, the tension member 113is located on the lower portion of the retainer member 111 of the pin110, locating the facing inclined surfaces 13 a, 13 b defining a rib 14on the inner surface of the tooth 10, a housing 15 remaining for theretainer member 111 in its assembly position. In this device, the pin110 carries out an axial rotation and translation displacement.

However in view of FIGS. 36, 38 and 39, if the tension member 123 islocated in the upper portion of the retainer member 121 of the pin 120,the facing inclined surfaces 127 a, 127 b defining a rib 125 must belocated on the outer surface of the tooth bar 20, preceded on both sidesby planar surfaces 124, 126. In this case, the displacement of the pinis also axially rotational and translational.

Both configurations can be alternated according to the workingrequirements, being able to change the movements carried out by the pin.

On the other hand, the specific shape of the inclined surfaces may beany shape suitable for facilitating the rotation of the pin from theunlocking position to the lock position and at the same time preventingthe retainer member from being released from the lock position duringnormal working of the excavator. It is also possible to arrange morethan two inclined surfaces if the embodiment so requires, mainly inthose embodiments allowing several tightening positions between thetooth and tooth bar as the tooth bar becomes deformed.

The invention has been described making reference to several specificembodiments, but a person skilled in the art could combine the differentembodiments according to the application requirements and introducevariations and replace some members with other technically equivalentmembers, which will also be comprised within the scope of protectiondefined by the attached claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An excavating device, comprising: a femalepart having a cavity configured to receive a male part; a removable pinconfigured to lock the female part to the male part and configured to bereceived within a through-hole in the male part when the male part isassembled within the cavity, the pin comprising a retaining memberprojecting transversely from an outer surface of the pin; the cavity ofthe female part comprising a hole in a wall of the cavity for receivingthe pin and the retaining member, wherein the hole is shaped forintroduction of the retaining member; and a resiliently loaded tensionmember configured to engage an outer surface of the male part when themale part is assembled within the cavity and configured to exert a forceon the retaining member in a longitudinal axial direction of the pinwhen the pin is inserted within the hole in the female part and theretaining member is received within the cavity; wherein an interiorsurface of the cavity of the female part adjacent the hole comprises atleast two inclined surfaces such that when the pin is inserted androtated together with the retaining member in a first direction, theretaining member runs along the inclined surfaces moving between atleast two positions against a force exerted on the pin in a longitudinalaxial direction of the pin by said tension member, one of the at leasttwo positions is a locked position in which the retaining member and thetension member cooperate to prevent the pin from rotating in a seconddirection opposite to the first direction so as to prevent the retainingmember from disengagement with the interior surface of the cavity;wherein the at least two inclined surfaces are inclined relative to aplane perpendicular to the longitudinal axial direction of the pin orinclined relative to a plane parallel to the longitudinal axialdirection of the pin; and wherein the hole in the female part is definedby a surface on an inside of the hole correspondingly sized and shapedwith the outer surface of the pin, and the pin, beyond the retainingmember, has an outer surface that is configured to directly face thesurface on the inside of the hole as the pin is inserted into the hole.2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the same surface of saidfemale part containing the inclined surfaces is provided with a cavityhousing the retaining member of the pin in the locked position.
 3. Thedevice according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surfaces form twofacing ramps with a rib between both.
 4. The device according to claim1, wherein upper and lower surfaces of the tension member are planar,straight and parallel to one another.
 5. The device according to claim1, wherein the pin has a cylindrical shape.
 6. The device according toclaim 1, wherein the tension member is a circular washer.
 7. The deviceaccording to claim 6, wherein the tension member is a metal spring. 8.The device according to claim 6, wherein the tension member comprises ahelical metal spring.
 9. The device according to claim 1, wherein thetension member is constituted only of an elastomeric material.
 10. Thedevice according to claim 1, further comprising a male part receivedwithin the cavity of the female part and wherein the male part comprisesa cavity in an outer surface for housing the tension member and athrough-hole for receiving the pin.
 11. The device according to claim 1,wherein the hole in a wall of the cavity of the female part is providedwith a notch for introduction of the retaining member.
 12. The femalepart according to claim 1, wherein the female part is a tooth coupleableto a tooth bar.
 13. The device according to claim 1, wherein an outersurface of the pin along a majority of the length of the pin along thelongitudinal axis of the pin below the retaining member has a circularcross-section taken orthogonally to a longitudinal axis of the pin andwherein said outer surface is configured to directly face the surface onthe inside of the hole as the pin is inserted into the hole.
 14. Thedevice according to claim 1, wherein an outer surface of the pin along amajority of the length of the pin along the longitudinal axis of the pinis configured to directly face the surface on the inside of the hole asthe pin is inserted into the hole.
 15. The device according to claim 1,wherein the at least two inclined surfaces are inclined relative to aplane perpendicular to the longitudinal axial direction of the pin andinclined relative to a plane parallel to the longitudinal axialdirection of the pin.